I was thinking last night about the historic name of Alhambra Creek. It used to be called Arroyo Del Hambre and it was Mrs Muir and her mother who suggested the change, I was realizing that I never searched specifically for Arroyo Del Hambre and beaver trapping so I thought you might be interested the historical summary I came across. Apparently in addition to removing all the beavers and otters fur trappers also brought Malaria to the delta which we still appreciate today.

“Two immediate consequences of the activities of the fur trappers were the destruction of populations of fur-bearing mammals, primarily beaver and freshwater otter, and the introduction of malaria, the latter of which would have long-term consequences for the history of the Delta and the Central Valley as a whole”

Such generous folks.

Delta Narratives: Saving the Historical and Cultural Heritage of
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

A Report to the Delta Protection Commission Prepared by the Center for California StudiesCalifornia State University, Sacramento

Martinez is named for Don Ignacio Martinez, who received a land grant of 17,000 acres from the Mexican government in 1842. Within the grant, at the mouth of what would later be named Alhambra Creek, Robert Semple built a ferry landing in 1847 which crossed Carquinez Strait from Benicia, which he helped to found. The first regular ferry service in the Bay area, in 1849, the Martinez-Benicia ferry became an essential route to the gold fields. Martinez grew rapidly and was declared the county seat of Contra Costa County in
1851.149 The town and adjacent lush Arroyo del Hambre (Hungry Valley) attracted orchardists and farmers such as John and Louisiana Strentzel, who arrived as emigrants via Texas in 1853, establishing a medical practice as well
as acreage in a variety of fruit and nut crops. The Strentzels’ property absorbed some of Martinez’s land grant, including the main ranch house built of adobe. It eventually encompassed 2,665 acres including rangelands and the nearby Briones Hills. Dr. Strentzel organized the Alhambra Chapter of the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, forming a cooperative and thus breaking the control of wharf and warehouse facilities in Martinez by two of California’s largest companies.

Of course you can see how silly it was to name any LUSH desirable valley “The valley of Hunger” so Louie made short work of the old name when she came.

In 1880, naturalist John Muir joined the Strentzel family as husband to daughter Louie. Louisiana Muir is credited with changing the name of the valley to Alhambra after the citadel of the Moorish rulers of Spain. Other early
Martinez agriculturalists include John Swett and James Borland. In additional to the agricultural richness of the area, Martinez became an active port and also a center of fishing. Produce was easily transported by water to wholesale and retail markets in Oakland and San Francisco. In the 1870s, Italian and Portuguese families pioneered several wineries in the area and established themselves in the fishing industry. The DiMaggio family is an example of the latter, producing not only fish, but the famous baseball slugger as well.